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The Newsletter of the Health Sciences OCLC Users Group

December 2001 -- no. 94
Proceedings Issue

Handling Electronic Resources Available from Aggregators

Presentation to the Health Sciences OCLC Users Group Meeting
Panel Discussion
October 28, 2001

The panel included Oliver Pesch from EBSCO Publishing, Gary Ross of The Gale Group (INFOTRAC and GALE),
and Todd Fegan of Proquest Information and Learning, as well as Barbara L. Nicholls from Amigos speaking on
OCLC's Collection Sets.
Bruce Abbot (John P. Ische Library, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center) facilitated the discussion.


Various solutions to the problem of managing information available through full-text database aggregators were discussed. The focus of the panel's discussion was solutions that the vendors are providing for bibliographic description of resources. Vendors described their participation in technical and other solutions to the "appropriate copy" issue. They discussed whether they provide MARC bibliographic and holdings information, whether they participate in industry wide initiatives such as OpenURL, DOI, etc., and whether they make their resources available via SFX, CrossRef, etc. They also discussed any proprietary solutions they provide.

Examples of issues involved are: the inclusion of MeSH Headings and NLM Classification in shared records; the provision of 856 links in the MARC holdings records as well as the MARC bibliographic records; a means of dealing with the frequency with which content is added and removed from a collection set; and the "Universal Holdings" concept.

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Oliver Pesch
EBSCO

EBSCO is a full text aggregator and database supplier. Mr. Pesch is also EBSCO Liaison to the PCC - SCA ((Program for Cooperative Cataloging-Standing Committee on Automation). Task Group on Journals in Aggregator Databases. The Task group is "investigating and making recommendations for a useful, cost-effective and timely means for providing records to identify full-text electronic journals in aggregator databases. The group is now charged with recommending vendor record content, for demonstrating the feasibility of automated generation of record sets, and for communicating preliminary specifications to the appropriate vendors." He offered EBSCO's participation in a demonstration record-creation and loading project and delivered a set of a dozen sample records in MARC communications format. The interim report (1999) of that task group's deliberations can be found at: www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/aggupdrpt.html


EBSCO makes available 35 full text databases, 50 Abstracted and indexed databases and 7,150 e-journals with 4700 of them at
article level access. The service is described on the EBSCO website at: www.epnet.com Mr. Pesch emphasized the linking capabilities of EBSCO software. It is described on the website as "seamless linking from search results in secondary databases to numerous online resources including full text databases, electronic journals, library OPACs, ILL/document delivery services, commercial linking servers and search engines." EBSCOhost is the web interface/search and retrieval software. "EBSCOhost offers customizable basic and advanced searching supported by boolean logic, natural language, enhanced subject indexing and journal searching, It provides links from the full record display to related articles by subject, journal issue or author".

Mr. Pesch briefly described EBSCO's services:

  • Source of records: machine-derived from CONSER or machine-generated when needed to which are added a 530 note, a 773 to
    reflect database and provider and an 856 with the URL, summary holdings and an access note.
  • Holdings reflected:
    SmartLinks software ensures links to full text are to journals and edatabases that the library subscribes to. Dates are the actual
    dates of holdings. Publisher-imposed embargos are reflected in the notes. Titles are updated monthly.
  • Delivery:
    EBSCOadmin is the web-based administrative module allowing customization of options and preferences and usage statistics.
    A single de-duped file for all EBSCO databases can be created and links customized. Automated email delivery each month.
  • Recommendations for updating OPAC:
    Replacement sets are available monthly. Can add identifying field, or use high record number range to load records
    (easy to purge monthly) Records are not manually edited. To update database, delete all records for a product then reload
    latest batch of records. Need to be able to undo what you have added.
  • Alternatives supported: EBSCO is working with other organizations to provide files that update titles from other sources such as
    PubMed and Serials Solutions as well as interfacing with jake.
  • Ed. note: jake stands for Jointly Administered Knowledge Environment. It is a full-text linking and reference tool initially organized
    at Yale, but now a joint project of members of the international library community and hosted at ibiblio ( http://ibiblio.org/about.html )
    It records content lists of (as of June 2002) 195 databases of full-text journals and other citation databases and provides linking
    software for libraries. Check out their website at http://jake-db . Creation of simple USMARC records for full-text journals in any of
    the databases listed in jake is possible with software (free) created by Mark Jordan, more information at http://jake.lib.sfu.ca/jake2marc/ ]

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Gary Ross
InfoTrac

Gary Ross from The Gale Group spoke about InfoTrac developments. The website is http://www.galegroup.com and search
"infotrac" in search box. InfoTrac is one of the first aggregators of journals and databases, marketed to schools and colleges
and public libraries. It has now created Total Access 2.0, described on its website:


"Total Access 2.0 is an innovative meta-search management system that sends a search request to multiple Web sites, and returns a list of results. Sites will display when selected from the results list. Total Access 2.0 goes to target Web sites and those Web sites do the actual searching, returning matching hits. It then displays them in the results panel, allowing users to choose from those results."
To take a tour of the TotalAccess product visit their website at: http://www.galegroup.com/TotalAccess/

Infotrac Technology has been a DOS program for the last 8 years. In Jan 2001 they implemented links to library OPACs. The
automatic link used in InfoTrac is the periodical ISSN. Can query OPAC for results in a new window. It works with most web-based
OPACs. Hot links can be placed on MARC records, in the 856. "InfoMarks [placed in the 856] allow users to copy and paste URLs
from the search interface into their own applications. Like saved searches, InfoMarks is dynamic, so users always get the most
up-to-date results. InfoMarks created with InfoTrac Web at one location may be used at another location, on or off campus, that
is part of the same database subscription. Can also use a "jake" record for ASCII field tagging. Links to holdings and to other open
URL/SFX compliant resources. are provided at the citation level. (Open URL allows multiple search types and data access.)

INFOTRAC's goal is to send data according to a standard, then the individual library can customize what is done with it.

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Proquest
Todd Fegan

ProQuest Evolution:
ProQuest Online - 1995
First WEB Interface - 1996
INBOUND Linking:
SiteBuilder/Durable URL technology - 1997
ProQuest MARC Records - 2000
OUTBOUND Linking:
Intelligent Document Linking - 2000
ProQuest CrossLinks - 2000
Introduction of 3rd Party A&I - 2000 (e.g., CINAHL)

ProQuest SiteBuilderTM:
One of the first to support the concept of a durable link.
Reading rooms, Electronic Reserves, Canned Searches.
SiteBuilder was then incorporated into our MARC records product.
Facilitated direct linking into the ProQuest publication page.
Allows customers to link from locally loaded A&I.

Durable URL:
ProQuest Proprietary structure
Facilitates linking in - OPAC, Web Site Applications
Saved Publication Search Links
American Nurse; Washington
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?Ver=1&Exp=01-21-2002&REQ=3&PUB=000038445&Cert
=lhOC3m0VWFf8l%2bWiRJ1U1%2bzhEZt2an%2fQVkKOO06kjcXxNOhw%2ffQvLI4ULhOb%2bh%2bQYDqj7yE77wgVYgGqHrBgxw--

ProQuest MARC Records
Records are complete CONSER records bought from LC and customized to match library's requirements. Sample MARC Record specifies: 010 for the LCCN, 035 for the OCLC control number, 245h indicating computer file, 773 for aggregator information,
856 for electronic holdings and URL link to title in ProQuest and the delimiter x indicates this 856 supplied by ProQuest.

Linking Out:
ProQuest CrossLinks
Facilitates outbound linking from ProQuest A&I.
Based on the emerging OpenURL standard.
Supports article level linking.
http://sfx1.exlibrisusa.com/demo?genre=article&sid=ProQ:&atitle=<TITLE>&title=<PUBNAME>&issn=<ISSN>&
date=<DATE>&volume=<VOLUME>&issue=<ISSUE>&spage=<SPAGE>&pid=<AUTHOR>

Links managed via LAD (local administration):

Holdings:
Insert exact start and end dates and holdings information
Search for Title in ProQuest
Click on Holdings Link
Select a link to retrieve full text document
View Full Text Article or linkout to non-ProQuest journals
SFX Linking: link to specific provider and links within documents to related material.

Summary:
As standards evolve ProQuest plans to support them with an 'Open Systems' philosophy. Our objective is to make our services as configurable as possible. Allowing for easy integration into your environment.

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Barbara Nicholls
OCLC

Ms. Nicholls commented that OCLC is interested in providing one central source for records. The three presenters had demonstrated what could be done to link out to other sources. She suggested that WorldCat could be used as a source, with options to link out from WorldCat itself.

Bruce Abbott, moderator and B.Nicholls, OCLC

Bruce Abbott, Moderator and Barbara Nicholls, OCLC

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HSOCLCUG Homepage: http://hsoclcug.org

Start of Message is the newsletter of the Health Sciences OCLC Users Group, an independent group composed of health sciences libraries and individuals who either use or are interested in the use of the services of OCLC, Inc. in health sciences libraries.

Created July 11, 2002
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